The “Dolat-e Bahar” Telegram channel, an official outlet closely aligned with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, published photographs confirming the former president’s attendance at the state funeral procession for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran. Ahmadinejad’s appearance at the high-profile state ritual comes despite his highly turbulent, factional history with the late Supreme Leader during and after his tenure in office.
Ahmadinejad’s political trajectory was initially defined by the total backing of the core establishment. During his first presidential term (2005–2009), he enjoyed the explicit, unwavering patronage of Ali Khamenei. This systemic backing culminated in the disputed 2009 presidential election, when Khamenei used his Friday prayer sermons to aggressively endorse Ahmadinejad’s administration, a heavy-handed intervention that triggered the historic Green Movement protests and permanently fractured the regime’s domestic legitimacy.
By 2010, however, the structural alliance between Ahmadinejad and the Supreme Leader began to unravel publicly. The definitive breaking point occurred over the dismissal of Heidar Moslehi, the Minister of Intelligence. Ahmadinejad forced Moslehi’s resignation, only for Khamenei to immediately issue a counter-decree reinstating the intelligence chief. In an unprecedented act of defiance against absolute clerical authority, Ahmadinejad staged an 11-day walkout, retreating to his private residence and paralyzing executive state functions.
